About “Medusa”

The World’s Wife
The collection of poems by Carol Ann Duffy entitled The World’s Wife was first published in 1999 and presents stories, myths, fairy tales and characters in Western culture from the point of view of women, very often giving voice to the hitherto unsung women close to famous men. Much of literature through the ages and even today is patriarchal, presenting the world from a male perspective. These poems were intended by Carol Ann Duffy to rectify that, to highlight the fact that women have long been ignored or silenced. The poems in the collection are witty, satirical, playful and complex.

The Greek Medusa Myth
In “Medusa,” the mythical protagonist is seen as being consumed by jealousy following the unfaithfulness of her lover. The Medusa story is one in which three Gorgon sisters, who hated mortal men, are so ugly that they turn all those that look at them into stone.

In the end, they are killed by the Greek God Perseus, who uses their reflection in his shield to attack them.

Carol Ann Duffy’s Interpretation
Duffy uses the imagery of the Medusa to show the power and destructive nature of jealousy. Medusa represents women who are betrayed by men and whose fine and loving natures are distorted and ultimately destroyed by their experiences. Duffy subverts centuries of misogynistic representation of women as evil, to show that it is men, not women, who are the root cause of the world’s ills.

Structure
The poem comprises seven stanzas of free verse. The first has five lines, the remainder six. There is no formal structured rhyme scheme, but a rhythmic effect is created by the frequent use of internal rhyme, consonance and assonance. The unstructured composition reflects the emotions of the speaker as her thoughts develop.

Language
The narrative is in the form of a dramatic monologue in which Medusa seems to be addressing an unknown audience. The reader is able to piece together the story as she speaks.